Steering pitman arm



Oct. 6, 1931. c. w. ISELER 1,826,401

STEERING PITMA'N ARM Filed May 13. 1929 "Patented Oct. 6, 1931' UNITED STATES CHARLES WILLIA ISELER, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNon ro e'nlvnnan'mo'rons RESEARCH CORPORATIGI'T, 013 DETROIT, IvIIC HIGAIN', A GORPISLBATION OF DELAWAR'E srnnnrim rIrMA-N ARM Application filerl May 13, 1929. Serial massacre.

This invention relates tofsteering gear for motor vehicles and the like, andmore pan ticularly to a pit-man arm for connecting the rock shaft at the lower end of the steering column with the drag bar or front wheellinkparts, so'that it may be easily applied either as standard equipment on new cars or msubstitution for the regular pitman arm on existing vehicles.

Another ob ect of the invention is to pro vide a construction which will promote the" ease of steering and reduce the likelihood of loss of control, by damping andcnshioning road shocks, front wheel 'wobble,or other violent reactions incident to vehicle'travel, and

preventing the imposition of damaging I stresses on the steering column and the transmission of sharp and smallmovementstolthe steering wheel in the hands of the driver or operator.

accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragment of a motor vehicle illustration tion of the invention. s

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the pitman arm and is takenon line 2-2 of Figure 1. Q

Figure 8 is a view taken on line 33' of Figure 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the reference character 1 indicates a motor vehicle chassis frame which is flexibly supported throughthe multiple leaf spring 2 upon a dead axle at thefront of the chassis, on the opposite ends of which are swivelled a pair of road wheels, one being indicated at 3; Supported byrthe chassis frame, either directly or indirectly, is a steering column 4,

"It is among the objects of the presentin Additional obj ects and'advanta'ges will be come apparent during the course ofth'e following specificationhavlng reference to the i the applica-' having its upper end a'sfteeiing wheel 5, and at its lower end ,a casing 6 enclosing suitable gear mechanism for transmitting the movement of the steering wheel to a laterally projecting rockshaft ,7. .As in the conven tional, hookup, a lpitm an arm or levertrans inits the rockingmovement of thesh'a'ft :7 to a 'draglinkor bar S fOrming a part 'of thei steering gear linkage.

In the present case, the pitman'is formedin sections, consisting of two Linter coImec'ted arms or ilevers '9 and IQ, adaptedtobej'fas tened to the dragbar 8i'and keyedonsplined on the end of the roclrshaft 7, respectively. H The arm or lever'lO'is provided with alpair of forksor legs 11 which straddle or receive the upper end ofthe .arm ,9,-'thelarm' 9. being i pivotally mounted on a pin orcs'tudl2 jpro-,

jecting through the/forks. A pin jorlstud 13 extends between the lowerenldsiof the two forks 11 and through aslot oropening'tlil intermediate the ends of "the farm In the drawings, this slot-or opening'le is. shown ,as

being substantially square in outline, buti't' will be readily understood that the opening may take other shapes. In opposite sides 0f the opening 14 are positioned a pairfo'fclips or seats 15 and 16-of channel or 'U-shape, the legs of which provide abutments orsea'ts for the oppositeends of a pair of multiple leaf .80

springs 17 and 18,]locatecl on' opposite sides of and engaging at points intermediatefthei-r, length, with a collar or sleeve l'9carried'lby thepin13. I I 1 ,In assembling the device, the several springv leaves and spring seats are inserted loosely in the opening 14 andthe arm 9 then" introduced between the for'ks 11 and/secured by the pivot pin 12'. When in this position, the loosely assembled parts are prevented from falling out of the Opening by wings or cars 20 projecting laterally from opposite sides-of the lower portion of the forks 11 and on both sides of the opening and which ears extend-entirely acrossand slightly beyondthe opening.

From the above description, it 'w'ilil be'seen that the two arms areconnected togetherjat spring opposing that of the other and tending to maintain the parts in centered relation.

When the driver or operator turns the steering wheel 5, the arm 11 is rocked withthe shaft 7 and transmits its movement through one or the other of the springs 1718 to pull or push on the drag link 8 and swing the front wheels. This movement may or may not deflect the springs depending upon the resistance offered by the road wheels. If the resistance is great, the particular spring may be fully deflected into the channel of-the member 16until the limit of relative move ment between the arms is reached, after which the arms move in positive unisonj In the event the drag link is forcibly moved or reciprocated back and forth because of road shocks, wheel wobble, or similar causes, the action of the pitman arm parts is much the same. That is, there would be a-tendency for the lower arm 9 to swing about the pivot pin 12 because of the pin and slot connection 13-14 and the elasticity of the two spring members l718 would serve to damp or cushion these movements and prevent severe strains on the steering column mechanism.

While the device has been described more or less specifically, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the'exact details referred to but that such modifications may be made as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim I 1. Motion transmitting means including a forked lever, a second lever located between ranged end to end with their remote ends connected to the steering shaft and drag link respectively, 'a pivot pin connecting the ad jacent ends of the arms at one point for rela-.

tive swinging movement,'a pin and slot conne'ction between the adjacent ends of the arms at a point spaced from the pivot connection and elastic means adapted to yieldingly resist'movement of the pin in said slot.

3. In a vehicle steering mechanism, an articulated pitman lever, including two arms arranged end to end with their remote ends connected to the steering shaft and drag link respectively, a pivot pin connecting the ad- 'f jacent ends of the arms at one point for relative swinging movement, a pin and slot con nection between the adjacent ends of the arms at a point spaced from the pivot connection and a pair of spring elements located in the slot on opposite sides of the pin to resist movement of the pin in the slot.

4. In a'vehicle steering mechanism, an articulated pitman lever, including two arms arranged end to end with their remote ends connected to the steering shaft and drag link respectively, a pivot. pin connecting the adj acent ends of the arms at one point for-relative swinging movement, a pin and slot connection between the adjacent ends of the arms at a point spaced from the pivot connection and a pair of spring leaves engaging opposite sides of the pin under tension, the tension of one spring opposing that of the other to yieldingly maintain the pin centered in the slot; 7 I I l 5. In a vehicle steering mechanism, an ar ticulated pitman lever, including two arms arranged end to end with their remote ends connected to the steering shaft and drag link respectively, a pivot pin connecting the adjacentends of the arms at one point for relative swinging movement, a pin and slot connection between the arms at a point spaced from the pivot connection, a pair ofleaf springs in the slot on opposite sides of the pin, each with an intermediate portion en-- gaging the pin, and abutments for the ends of the springs.

6. Motion transmittingmeans, including a pair of arms, connections between the arms at two points spaced one from another, one of the connections permitting swinging movementof the arms, and the othercomprising a pin on one arm extendin through an opening in the other arm, a pair or multiple leaf springs positioned in said opening and engageable at intermediate points with opposite sides of the pin, and a seat for each spring consisting of a U-shaped member having its legs in engagement with opposite ends ofthe spring on the side opposite the pin and into the channel of which the spring is deformable. V 7. Motiontransmitting means, including an arm having an opening therein, spring leaves looselyjpositioned within said opening, a forked arm straddling the first-mentioned arm and having portions extending entirely across said 'opening on opposite sides thereof to retain the spring leaves therein, a pin extending between the forks through said opening and engageable with the spring leaves which yieldingly resistmovement of the pin, and means to pivotally connect the two arms for relative swinging movement. V y,

In testimony whereof I flillX my signature.

CHARLES WVILLIAM ISELER.

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